This was a political movement in which Senator Joseph McCarthy attempted to control the spread of Communism by placing any Communist sympathisers on a blacklist. However, the play was written during another type of witch hunt: McCarthyism in 1950s America. Although partially fictionalised, it depicts the very real consequences of false accusations based on blind religious faith, as Miller displays the dangers of such baseless rumours. This is an act of vendetta.The Crucible, Arthur Miller’s 1953 realist play, is based on the historical events of the 1692 Salem witch hunts. Mary also claims that she could now remember everything Sarah ever did to her. However, after Sarah denied her some bread, she mumbles and claims that the mumbling was the course of her illness. In the case against Sarah Good, Mary refused to accuse her since she was merely a poor and homeless woman. This was a convenient method of avoiding repercussions.

What’s more, she claims that she did not dance, but only observed. Mary states that by confessing, they will only be whipped. Therefore, she desperately pleads with Abigail that they should confess their sins. Mary bursts out on stage about the fast-spreading frenzy caused by the witchcraft trials. In the course of the play, the reader can observe that this character is ready to go to extreme lengths in order to avoid persecution or punishment, despite the misfortunes she causes to others. The punishment for this act was being placed within the stocks or whipping. Dancing was a sinful act in the Puritan town of Salem. On the night preceding the trials, she gets caught in the company of Abigail and the girls dancing deep in the woods at midnight. She is described as a seventeen-year-old girl who is lonely, naive, and subservient. This can be observed at the beginning of the play when she appears on the stage. Though Mary is among the oldest in that particular group, she is sadly also among the most fearful and weakest members. The focal point of these trials is Abigail and her group of girls. She ultimately gets swept by the wave of hysteria caused by the witch trials. Mary Warren is an embodiment of human weakness and fear.

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